What happened to Martin Bashir, the journalist who was given a “revenge interview” by Lady Di after the scandalous trap and scam

The “interview of the century” or also called the “revenge interview” took place 28 years ago, and only now are new and controversial details known about how Diana of Wales’ conversation with a journalist was faked. Martin Bashir.

At the moment when the Princess of Wales opened the door in front of the BBC cameras, specifically for the “Panorama” program, she was already separated from the then Prince Charles. It was reason enough for him to reveal the details of his married life, infidelity and psychological problems.

Who is Martin Bashir?

Martin Bashir’s name is back in the headlines, almost three decades after the interview that catapulted him to fame and earned him the Royal Television Society’s “Journalist of the Year” award in 1996.

Born in London, he was a BBC correspondent between 1987 and 1992, but only in 1995 did he shake up the British monarchy by publishing an interview with Diana of Wales in his show “Panorama”.

Eight years later, he also interviewed Michael Jackson for a documentary that was somehow used to sink the so-called “King of Pop”, according to the publication La República.

As of 2020, his fame has been on the decline and his credibility has been called into question after it was revealed that he obtained an interview with Diana of Wales through cheating and fraud, Vanity Fair magazine reported. The magazine reveals that Earl Spencer, Diana’s brother, has also questioned the episode and accused the BBC of not providing emails related to the interview.

“Indeed, Martin Bashir used ‘deceptive methods’ to get the most important interview of his career,” the media reported in one of its publications.

Bashir’s plot came to light in a documentary called Interview with Diana: Revenge of the Princess (Diana Interview: Revenge of the Princess), from the ITV network, reviewed by El País de España.

According to the journalist’s investigation Andy WebbMartin Bashir was able to approach Lady Di by deception and knew how to manipulate her into getting an interview.

He would do the same to BBC executives, even though Judge Brian Kennedy ordered the release of more than three thousand emails linking the journalist to the heads of the television network.

“We know that the journalist only got his sensational interview with the princess in 1995 by selling her a litany of lies and slander. We also know, thanks to Lord Dyson’s 2021 report, that BBC bosses at the time covered up much of what they knew about Bashir’s fraud,” says journalist Andy Webb, who investigates what managers knew about it.

Although the BBC admitted in 2020, through its director Tim Davie, that “more effort should have been made” to get to the bottom of what happened, it was also mentioned that “the BBC cannot turn back the clock after a quarter of a century”.

He further added that it was “Princess Diana’s personal decision to participate in the interview” despite Bashir’s deception.

Bashir officially resigned from the BBC in 2021, citing health problems, according to Spanish media, including the effects of covid-19 and heart surgery. (AND)